Most information about the life of Saint Stanislas (Stanislaw in
Polish) has come from the first Polish chronicler Gall, who was
probably of Italian origin. Gall wrote his chronicle at the court of
Wladyslaw I Herman (1079 - 1102) and was almost a contemporary of the
Saintly Bishop.
Saint Stanislas, a Polish nobleman, was the son of Wielislaw, of the
clan Turzyna. Wielislaw was the possessor of Szczepanow and Raba near
the old Polish capital of Krakow. Wielislaw's wife Bogna, was of the
clan Nowina (of the same Polish noble clan as the current Grand
Master of the Order of Saint Stanislas). St. Stanislas was born in
1035 and from his very early years devoted himself to the service of
God and to the poor. In December 1071, Stanislas was elected 9th
Bishop of Krakow.
At that time in history, Poland was ruled by King Boleslaw II,
nicknamed "The Fierce" (1058 - 1079). It was the time of the wars of
investiture between the German King and Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV
(1056 - 1105); and Pope Gregory VII (1073 - 1083). Boleslaw sided
with the Pope while his brother-in-law, Wratislaw of Bohemia, sided
with the Emperor. Boleslaw was crowned in 1075 by Saint Bogumil,
Archbishop of Gniezno, another great ecclesiastic of the XIth century
Poland. Boleslaw was a successful ruler, as far as making war was
concerned. He twice took Kiev, restoring his brother-in-law, Iziaslav
I, to the Russian throne, but as Gall pointed out, he was sometimes
over generous in rewards, careless in battles, fierce, proud and
extremely cruel.
Sometime in 1078, the King and Bishop Stanislas came into conflict.
History does not know the exact reasons, but what is known is that
there was a discontent amongst the population because of the constant
wars and expeditions, that took most of the men away from their homes
for many years. This situation was no doubt exploited by the King's
younger brother, Wladyslaw Herman, who ruled Masovia as his
principality. It is known that Wladyslaw was a friend of the Bishop,
whose sympathy was with him rather than the King. Early in April of
1079, the conflict between the King and the Bishop neared its' tragic
end. The Bishop was siezed by the King's friends of the Jastrzebiec
clan and brought over to him for his judgement, which took place on
the hill of Skalka above the church of Saint Michael. The King
sentenced Stanislas to the punishment known then as "truncatio
membrorum,"which consisted of cutting off the hands, legs, nose, ears,
and poking out the eyes, but not cutting off the head, and therefore
not always equal to the sentence of death. However, the sentence was
carried out by the King's friends of the Jastrzebiec clan with such
violence that it resulted in the death of the Bishop on 11 April
1079.
Within two months revolt spread, headed by the King's younger brother
Wladyslaw Herman from Masovia and supported by the invasion of the
Czechs under King Wratislav. Most of the Polish people, horrified by
the deed of the King, abandoned him. By July 1079, Boleslaw "The
Fierce" had lost his throne. He was a refugee in Hungary but still a
proud and unbroken man. When the Hungarian King Saint Ladislas came
in person to greet him on the frontier, Boleslaw would not dismount
his horse, treating him as a vassal. Within two years, Boleslaw died
at the age of 41 in the lonely monastery of Osyak now in Slovenia.
His grave there is marked only by a stone slab depicting his last
faithful companion, his horse.
As Boleslaw left the country, Wratislaw I of Bohemia marched to
Krakow in July 1079. There he married Svatava (Boleslaw's sister) and
was recognised as the King of Poland in Krakow. Wladyslaw Herman,
Boleslaw's younger brother who already ruled Masovia, now took also
Greater Poland and accepted the division of the country with
Wratislav. He was fat, indolent and not at all warlike as his brother
was. However, Boleslaw "The Fierce" left a young son in Hungary,
Prince Mieszko. In 1085, the Hungarian King Saint Ladislas, who was
at war with Wratislaw of Bohemia led a successful expedition into
Krakow, expelled Wratislav and then placed the 17 year old Mieszko as
ruler in Krakow. Wladyslaw Herman accepted this division of the
country this time with his nephew, but in 1089 the young Prince
Mieszko and his new bride died of poison administered to them in
their drinks, on the order of his uncle Wladyslaw Herman. It was
Wladyslaw Herman who then reunited Poland under his rule, with the
help of the powerful and friendly (to him) clans, such as the
Turzynas the Nowinas and the Sreniawas.
Wladyslaw Herman took Krakow in July 1089, and one of his first acts
was the political rehabilitation of his friend, Bishop Stanislas.
Already miracles were reported at his grave in the Church of Saint
Michael on Skalka. The remains of the martyred Bishop were taken from
Saint Michael's church on Skalka, placed in a silver coffin and taken
to the Royal Castle in Krakow, the Wawel Castle. This ceremony took
place on 27 September 1089.
During the next one hundred and fifty years, many miracles occurred
around his tomb, especially the healing of the sick and the crippled.
Hundreds of pilgrims came from not only Poland but all over Europe to
touch his tomb and to pray to be cured. On 8 May 1253, Pope Innocent
IV proclaimed Bishop Stanislas a Saint and a second patron of Poland
after Saint Wojiech, who was martyred in 997. The 8th of May was
established as the feast day of Saint Stanislas.
As the years and centuries passed, so the veneration and the fame of
Saint Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr grew. The silver coffin of the
Saint is still in the Royal Castle, where it hangs suspended above
his altar, but most of his bones were used as relics and were divided
through the ages between many churches, especially those that bear
the name of Saint Stanislas.
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